November 25, 2009
Dear Praying Friend,
As I reflect back on this past year I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the faithfulness of God in His provision of fervent prayers warriors, like you, who have passionately pursued the throne of grace for all the saints so that God's kingdom purposes will be accomplished. Your prayers have moved mountains, clearing the path of obstacles that hinder the furthering of the gospel message and building a wall against the evil forces that have set themselves up against the work and knowledge of God.
Today I am praising God for you as you daily respond to the most vital assignment given to the servant of God - prayer! For those of you who daily labor in prayer for the saints you know that it is not always easy work, but it is holy work, indispensible to the work of God being done on this earth. God works through the prayers of His people. When you pray you touch the heart of God, revealing your faith and humble dependence upon Him and causing Him to move, accomplishing extraordinary work that would not have been possible otherwise.
Our strength as a church is found in prayer - without this vital connection to God we are powerless. We are in a spiritual battle that can only be fought with the spiritual weapons of the Word of God and prayer. We are the greatest threat to the enemy when we step onto the battlefield dressed in our spiritual armor and taking our position in prayer. For this reason alone Satan places a high priority on destroying our prayer life. And this is why we must protect the precious moments we spend each day in prayer and never neglect this critical calling to pray for all the saints. "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).
Your role as an intercessor and prayer warrior is vital in advancing the Kingdom of God. Your daily laboring in prayer continues the work that Jesus began. "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask Me for anything in My name, and I will do it" (John 14:12-14).
How critical the role of prayer will be in the coming weeks and months ahead as we look ahead and understand the challenges that are before us as a nation and as followers of Jesus Christ. My prayer for you is that you will be encouraged in your role as an intercessor and that you will not grow weary, knowing that you are not laboring in vain. The harvest is before us, there is still work to be done. "The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:24). Our responsibility is to simply pray, the Lord will be faithful to supply the results! May God bless you for your faithfulness as you stand in the gap in prayer!
Next week I look forward to sharing with you an exciting new journey and the new focus for the New Year! Please keep praying, the Lord is doing amazing things! Have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!
Heavenly Father, I will give thanks to you forever; for you are good and your love endures forever. How we thank you for your indescribable gift in Christ Jesus your Son - through whom you have given us victory! You lead us daily in triumphal procession in Christ. As you led your servants Joshua and Jehoshaphat into battle singing your praises, we enter your gates with thanksgiving and your courts with praise and we give you all the glory for the wondrous work of your hands. We come before you with praise that we serve a risen God who desires to give us all good gifts when we come before you in humble dependence and prayer. Remove those things in our lives that have hindered our prayers and have prevented you from hearing our petitions. We lay our lives at your feet for the furtherance of your kingdom and ask that you would strengthen us through the power of your Holy Spirit and guide us as we daily labor in prayer for all the saints and for the salvation of all men. We give you all the praise and glory as we pray in the powerful name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
(Joshua 6; 2 Chronicles 20; Psalm 30:12; 100:4; 118:28;
1 Corinthians 15:57; 2 Cornthians 9:15; )
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
